My dryer runs but does not heat. What is usually wrong?
On an electric dryer it is most often a blown thermal fuse, and the thermal fuse almost always blows because the vent is blocked. Replacing the fuse without clearing the vent means it blows again within weeks.
Before anything else, check the vent run from the back of the dryer to the outside of the house. Lint packs into the duct, the dryer overheats, and the safety fuse does exactly what it was designed to do. A blocked dryer vent is also a genuine fire risk, which is why we would rather see it than have you keep running the machine.
On a gas dryer, no heat more often points to the igniter or the gas valve coils. On an electric dryer it is the thermal fuse, the heating element, or the thermostat.
If the dryer heats but clothes take three cycles to dry, that is the same vent problem in an earlier stage.
Related service: Dryer repair
Ask us directly
If this is your appliance right now, the phone is faster than reading. The service call is $85 and it is credited toward the repair.
Other questions
- Why will you not give a repair price over the phone?
- Is the $85 service call credited toward the repair?
- Is it worth repairing an appliance, or should I just buy a new one?
- My dishwasher has standing water at the bottom. What should I do before the technician comes?
- My refrigerator stopped cooling. Is that an emergency?